Consideration and Approval: Arizona State Forestry Grant Agreement Wildland Fire Hazard Fuel (WFHF) 15-202.

Acceptance of this grant award will facilitate needed initial forest treatments (selective thinning and debris disposal) on 200 acres of the City-owned Observatory Mesa Natural Area (OMNA). 

This is a 90% State($135,000) -10% City ($15,000) grant award.  Acceptance of this award will save the City substantial Flagstaff Watershed Protection Project (FWPP) bond funds that would otherwise be required to complete this needed forest treatment work. The budget appropriation for this grant is part of the FWPP budget in account 407-09-3277-1-4290 with FY2016 budget of $2,906,000.

Not on this specific issue/award. Council was, however, engaged in the bond issue when it was approved to be presented to the voters (summer 2012), has approved other grant awards and contracts related to FWPP, and has been kept updated on issues throughout the overall effort. 

Three exist:
1) Approve the grant award, permitting forest treatment work to proceed as planned. This permits full-use of the grant funds and saves bond funds.
2) Pass on the award and fund the effort entirely from bond funds. This increases city costs and reduces bond funds for other FWPP required work or area.
3) Reject the need for forest treatments on the OMNA. This leaves the site vulnerable to damage/loss and voter desire/direction as identified in the passage of the bond (74% approval) unfulfilled.

Damage and loss of our forests from destructive wildfire and insect infestations are ever-present threats to our community. Areas that have undergone proactive forest treatments (ie – thinning, debris disposal, and/or prescribed/managed fire) are not only healthier and more resilient to damaging agents, they also provide a barrier to the spread of these agents once they do become established. Such treated areas enhance public safety, ensure infrastructure protection, and safe-guard community well-being. Within our community and immediate area, the Woody Fire (2005), Hardy Fire (2010), and Slide Fire (2014) dramatically demonstrate the value of these treatments: the Schultz Fire (2010) shows what can happen when such treatments are not in-place.

The OMNA and the forest treatments that are planned, and that have occurred, were presented during the bond campaign leading-up to the election, as part of the overall goal, area, and effort that would occur with passage of the measure. Regardless of location or casual factor, insect infestations are always difficult to manage. Wildfires on Observatory mesa are a challenge due to access, lack of on-site water supply, adjacent neighborhoods, and other factors. Completion of forest treatments have proven highly effective in reducing occurrence and severity of these events.

We anticipate a total cost to conduct this operation – from site set-up to final debris disposal following cutting – to be $750/acre. This grant will provide funding for $675/acre (90%). The remaining $75/acre will be from FWPP bond funds.

Multiple partners have been engaged in the FWPP effort since its inception, and these partnership efforts have continued throughout planned and completed work on the OMNA. Working with City Staff, the AZ State Forestry Division was the principle author of the OMNA Forest Stewardship Plan. AZ Game & Fish Department, US Fish & Wildlife Service, and NAU's Ecological Restoration Institute provided input and review. The Nature Conservancy, Greater Flagstaff Forests Partnership, US Forest Service, private consultants, and NAU's School of Forestry have all been elsewhere on the OMNA during-and-following other forest treatments providing feedback. Completion of the forest treatment work funded by this grant award will protect adjacent neighborhoods, recreational opportunities, and wildlife habitat, while promoting forest resiliency and sustainability.

Inform - Following the 50 campaign events leading up to the bond election (Nov 2012), we have continued to work at keeping the community informed of what we are doing, and why. The Project website (www.flagstaffwatershedprotection.org) is one way: numerous news stories have also been crafted and/or otherwise reported. Impromptu and announced field trips have been conducted, most recently during the Festival of Science: OMNA stakeholder members, city staff, and Council members have also been provided tours. City staff has interacted with numerous individuals hiking, running, or biking through the area, as well as with other community members interested in the work. The OMNA Stakeholder Group and the Friends of the Rio have been briefed. Information boards have established, and continue to be maintained, where the Urban Trail crosses the site and where roads enter the parcel.

Consult - We’ve worked with both AZ Game & Fish and US Fish & Wildlife Service to protect habitat, with adjacent neighborhoods regarding access, the US Forest Service regarding transportation routes, Kinder Morgan/El Paso Natural Gas and the Snowbowl regarding pipeline crossings, and AZ State Forestry regarding plans.

Involve - Following treatment work on other OMNA sites, both the public and the Winter Wood For Warmth program have been engaged in removing firewood for use and distribution to area/regional residents. A few individuals who have raised issues about the work have been engaged directly by staff from NAU’s Ecological Restoration Institute to provide context and a more complete understanding of the need, and the work, itself. Other City Staff, including those from Sustainability and Stormwater, have also been engaged. Community members have also been hired as seasonal Fire Dept crew members and have been engaged in conducting some of the work itself. Collaborate

Empower - The planned forest treatments are part of a larger effort underway in our area and throughout northern AZ. We and our many partners have been engaged for nearly two decades in this work, on various jurisdictions and site conditions, and have utilized a variety of prescriptions and approaches to ensure we have a full-suite of treatments across the greater landscape. The work to be funded by this award is based upon credible and proven science-based forest restoration and hazard fuel management standards and knowledge. It adheres to guidelines established in the Greater Flagstaff Area Community Wildfire Protection Plan (City & County - 2005), is consistent with forest treatments designed and implemented by the Greater Flagstaff Forests Partnership (1999-present) and the City of Flagstaff Wildland Fire Management program (1998-present), meets the goals of the State of AZ 20-Year Strategy (2007), is consistent with the required actions identified in both the initial and final Observatory Mesa Forest Stewardship Plan (2013 and 2015, respectfully) and both the Four Forests Restoration Initiative's and the Flagstaff Watershed Protection Project's Final Records of Decision (USFS - 2015). Further, it meets grant requirements for post-treatment conditions.